Healthier, super moist, honey sweetened chocolate zucchini cake with a special and simple ganache made out of coconut oil, cocoa powder, Greek yogurt and honey!
I’m totally new to the world of zucchini in baked goods. I can do carrot cake (like this whole wheat carrot cake) because the carrots are hidden, but I was nervous about this one.
It worked out well, though! It was awesome and I can’t wait to try other zucchini recipes. Especially ones with chocolate. ;) Update: these zucchini brownies (which are also whole wheat and can be made gluten-free) are now my favorite zucchini goodie!)
Zucchini and veggies just aren’t my thing. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I bought a cucumber, thinking it was a zucchini. What can I say? They’re both long and green. Thank goodness Mr. Texanerin questioned my cucumber intentions!
Or else there would’ve been cucumber cake. Yuck. Actually, I dislike zucchini too so maybe it doesn’t really matter. And by the way, you can not taste the zucchini in this zucchini cake. You can believe me when I say I would not eat this if you could.
So that’s what the cake looks like without the ganache. A bit boring, yes? And weird. The second cake I made came out looking normal. Without all those little holes. I had to make the cake twice.
The first time I used a 6 cup bundt pan (it halves wonderfully!), thinking it wouldn’t work out. But then it did. And since I can’t just guess the baking times, I had to bake it a second time using a normal 12 cup bundt pan.
So much better, isn’t it?! And oh oh oh! This ganache… it’s not really ganache. Ganache = chocolate + cream. This is cocoa powder, honey, coconut oil, and Greek yogurt. Yeah! :D It sets like normal ganache, but you should keep it in the fridge because of the yogurt. And it honestly tastes just like real ganache.
If you want something with chocolate and zucchini that’s gluten-free, try this gluten-free zucchini bread! It looks amazing.
Oh, and here’s a little lesson for you.
How to sneak pieces of cake before taking photos because of bad lighting situations:
Just make sure to leave little gaps so your cake doesn’t collapse. :)
100% Whole Grain Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Greek Yogurt Honey Chocolate Ganache
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 12-14 pieces
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (177ml) olive oil or canola oil
- 1 cup (320 grams) honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (177ml) Greek yogurt
- 290 grams whole wheat flour (this was about 2 cups or 2 1/4 cups)
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 90 grams Dutch-process cocoa powder (about 3/4 cup cocoa)
- 3 cups (for me, this was 340 grams) grated, peeled zucchini1
- 1 cup (180 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 80 grams (1/4 cup) honey
- 50 grams (3 1/2 tablespoons) coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup (30 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2-4 tablespoons Greek yogurt
Zucchini cake:
Ganache:
Directions
- Grease a 12 cup bundt pan or 6 cup if you want to make half. Preheat your oven to 350°F / 176°C. For the cake, combine the honey, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl. At first it'll be difficult to get the honey incorporated, but it'll work. Stir in the eggs and then the Greek yogurt. Set this bowl aside.
- In another large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Sift the cocoa powder into the bowl if it's lumpy, or just use a fork to get rid of the lumps. Add the wet mix to the dry mix and stir, just until combined. Fold in the zucchini and the chocolate chips.
- Bake the full recipe for 40 minutes, or if using half, bake for 30 minutes. When you insert a toothpick in the middle, the toothpick will not come out dry, or even with crumbs, but it'll come out covered in sticky batter. If you insert it, and it's just normal batter, it's not ready. Sticky batter is what we're looking for! It'll continue to cook once it's out of the oven.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then flip out onto a wire rack to cool. Cool completely before putting on the ganache. If using the following ganache recipe, store cake covered in the fridge. Otherwise, room temperature is fine.
- For the ganache: Over low heat, melt the honey and coconut oil and in a medium saucepan or pot. When melted, add the vanilla and then the cocoa powder. Stir until thoroughly combined. It might look weird, like it isn't combining. The first time I made it, I used too much coconut oil and poured some out and everything was fine. The recipe reflects how I made it the second time with less coconut oil, and had no problem with excess oil.
- Place in the fridge for 5 minutes. Take out and add a tablespoon of Greek yogurt at a time, stirring after every one. For me, just under three tablespoons was enough. It should be pourable at this point. Not too hot and not too cold. Pour over the cake and store any leftovers in the fridge.
Notes
- The first time, I grated the zucchini. The second time, I put it through the food processor using the super finer grater. But it really came out more like puree. With the puree, I used 1.5 cups because that's what 340 grams came out to. I think I actually preferred it with the grated zucchini. The texture just seemed better and the little pieces disappeared anyway, so you can still trick people. :)
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91 comments on “100% Whole Grain Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Greek Yogurt Honey Chocolate Ganache” — Add one!
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i just made this and the center never set. it’s still raw. i put it back in for 15 minutes and still way too gooey. The only thing i can think is that i didn’t really drain the zuchinni first but it didn’t say to anywhere in the directions. is that the problem?
Oh no. Sorry it didn’t come out! I hope it eventually set. I’ve made this cake a few times and never drained the zucchini. The only thing I can think of is that you finely grated your zucchini and were therefore able to pack in a lot? There’s a note about that at the bottom of the recipe. If that’s not the case, I have no idea what could have caused the problem. Sorry again!
Hi would this recipe work without the chocolate chips added? Thanks :-)
Yes, that should be fine. Hope you’ll like it! :)
This cake is very appetizing. I am definitely making it for my husband’s birthday. Thanks for the awesome recipe!!
I hope that your husband will love it (and that he’ll have a happy birthday!) Thanks for the feedback and the rating. :)
My 15 yr old daughter made this cake for her Dad’s Birthday yesterday…it turned out really good. We left out the yogurt as she has a dairy allergy…it was still super moist. We put a simple orange glaze on top instead of the ganache…just wasn’t sure how to substitute the yogurt in the ganache. Everyone loved it.
I’m so happy that you all enjoyed this cake! And I love that your daughter made the cake for her dad. So nice. :) I’m happy that this worked out without the yogurt. Thanks so much for your feedback!
This looks delish, and I’m floored by the ganache! I’m _so_ making that. Thank you for sharing!
I hope that you’ll enjoy the cake and ganache! :)
I found your ganache through a google search and it was PERFECT!! I used it on a coconut/chocolate layer cake for my friend’s birthday cake last night. I will definitely use it again. How creative!
Oh no. Sorry for just now seeing this! I’m so happy to hear that you liked the ganache. And on a coconut chocolate cake?! Yum! Thanks a ton for the feedback. :)
I know this is awful of me to ask but do you happen to have the nutritional numbers on this beautiful cake. I have a lot of diabetes in my family and if I saw numbers I can tweek it for them.
That’s not awful at all, Denise! I don’t have that info but Caloriecount has a nice recipe analyzer you could try using. :) This recipe is healthier than a normal cake but still not diabetes friendly so I’m guessing it’d need a lot of tweaking. Good luck! I hope you all enjoy it. :)
Okay, I am intrigued. I just pinned this and will be trying it!
Thanks for pinning, Kelly! I hope you enjoy the cake. Let me know how it comes out! :)
I just made this for my daughter's 1st birthday and it was a huge hit! Great recipe, and we're going to pretend it's healthy enough for breakfast :) Next time I will make it as a bundt or cupcake, though. I tried to be clever and bake it in a cute shape for her birthday, but had to cook it longer because the center remained gooey and so the edges were a little over baked. This is definitely a cake that does best with no center to worry about. Even over baked it's fantastic, though!
Ah, sorry I didn't see this until now! So sorry. I'm happy that it worked out even in a funny shape. And your daughter's 1st birthday… I'm honored you made this! Thank you. And thanks for the review! :)
I love zucchini chocolate cakes! That sneaky bit of healthiness which just translates as a yummy moist chocolate cake is alright by me. And hahaha I LOVE your tip for how to eat cake prior to shooting :-D
Same for me! Now that I know that I can be sneaky with zucchini, I'm going to try more chocolately things with them! And yay, happy my cake digging tip was helpful. :)
Ooh, you made a zucchini cake also. Looks good!
Yeah but yours looks way neater. :)
Someya – Hi! I love hearing from new readers. :) I'm happy that the cake worked out for you and thanks for leaving feedback!
hi. i m quite new here. i have just made this one and it turned great. thx for sharing.
Kathryn – Me too! I was so shocked that I actually liked it. I thought for sure I'd be able to taste a hint of the zucchini. But nope. This is all chocolate. :)
Brooke – Yay! This totally made my day. I love it when people leave feedback. Thank you! I'm so happy that you liked it and your cupcakes worked out. Thanks again. :)
Oh goodness, this recipe is amazing! I made these into cupcakes and they are absolutely incredible! The cake is so moist and tastes like very dark chocolate, not too sweet, which is perfect. Thanks so much!
I'm a zucchini hater too but I've been pleasantly surprised about how well it works in cakes and cookies. I definitely need to try this and I really love the idea of that chocolate ganache!
Christina – Thanks! I still have my eye on that lemon zucchini bread of yours. Just have to know if the veggie taste is there. :)
Seriously, look at that chocolate ganache!! Incredible! I just love the chocolate and zucchini combo! :)
Amy – Thanks! Happy people like the ganache. :)
Sonia – I bet you'll make more than a few tweaks (it's a LOOOOT of honey!) and they'll be awesome tweaks. :) And happy my lesson was helpful for you. I don't understand how people can stand it, not trying cake before taking pictures. It's crazy! How do they even know if it's good enough to post? I'm not going to spend a few hours on something that I don't even know tastes good. Thanks for your enthusiasm, as always!
Stefanie – Thank you! :)
Erin – You and I are so on the same page. Can't wait to see your post! I also want to do more with zucchini and chocolate. I have one leftover. I'll have to see what I can think of!
Baltic Maid – I came across your recipe when I first thought of the baking with zucchini and saw that I had already commented. I still want to make it but I was worried about making it in a bundt pan. It sounds amazing, though!
I really want a slice or two, now… It looks soo good. And the ganache, oh, it's so pretty. I am really craving chocolate cake now…
I made a chocolate cake with zucchini before and I agree you really cannot taste the zucchini.